Vacation…when things don’t go as planned.

Recently we went on vacation to Folly Beach, South Carolina. We had a wonderful time but I can say with 100 percent certainty things definitely didn’t go as planned. There were several moments of disappointment scattered throughout. Nothing horrible and it was all definitely first world problem nuisances. As I look back on these moments post trip I can see how valuable they were to our family. In the big picture they added to our experience.

Here are a few…

Kids fighting=Teachable moments

We landed in Charleston and had to get our bags and rental car which took a bit. The kids were irritable and began pinching, hitting and all around being unkind to each other. I took a deep breath and used this as a learning opportunity. It looked something like my normal mantra of, “We are a team, we worked together not against each other. Together we are capable of so much”. I’m not clear if the kids hear me when I this. I’m hoping perhaps I can get it into their subconscious minds if heard enough. This trip gave me plenty of opportunities to do just that.

Vomit in the car=Anika stepping up

Jake had fallen asleep on the ride to the hotel. He woke up screaming, to the point of making himself throw up. When we got to our hotel parking lot as Jamie checked us in, I cleaned him and the carseat up. Anika was so calm and helpful through this whole process. She waited patiently, and offered to carry multiple bags upstairs so I could carry Jake. Although cleaning vomit out of a car seat is never fun, I was able to see what an independent and understanding little girl Anika has become.

Weather not cooperating= new discoveries

Previous trips to South Carolina we have enjoyed unseasonably warm temperatures. This trip things went the opposite and we had some unseasonably low temperature days. One day in particular was not just cold, but also rainy. It worked out well because it forced us to look for some inside activities, something we don’t usually do. We ended up discovering an incredible Firehouse Museum that the kids loved. It was one of our favorite parts of the trip. Had the weather been perfect we never would have discovered this place.

Magnolia plantation disaster=lightbulb moment

We tried to go to a plantation this trip, something that’s been on our list the past couple of trips to South Carolina. Unfortunately when we got there the weather was freezing and the kids were not enjoying it. We went through the grounds and gardens quickly but the kids just wanted to go back to the car. We saw the outside of the plantation house and tried to do a horticultural maze. At this point things really started to deteriorate. Jake was cold and upset. I was irritable and upset because I was frustrated because we finally made it to this incredible place and things were not going well.

It was time to call it. We walked back to the car with Jacob screaming the entire way. We were hungry and decided to treat ourselves to Chick fil-A for lunch. Once we had warmed up and eaten, I asked the kids what they wanted to do on vacation.

Anika said swim in the pool and play with her sticker book in the hotel room. Jacob said swim in the pool and eat Cheez Its. Jamie said what he was doing right now, hang out with us and not go to work. Some light bulbs started going off in my head after this conversation.

On the way home we needed to stop for more groceries. We walked into Publix and it was warm. They had kids shopping carts so the kids each grabbed one to push around. We walked by the deli and saw free cookies that were full size, beautiful sugar cookies, covered with sprinkles. As we traveled throughout the store the kids took turns putting our groceries in their carts and they couldn’t have been happier. It was night and day from the plantation. At the check out, they each happily unloaded items onto the conveyor belt. There was also a free sticker handed out at some point. The giant cherry on top of this magical ice cream sundae of fun. You would have thought we just went to an amusement park. They couldn’t have been happier with this entire experience.

This is when I came to the realization that we are not in the season of life where we need to do much with the kids on vacation to make them happy. I should enjoy this. Someday they will be grown and gone and I can take my time to stroll calmly through beautiful plantation gardens. For now I’m going to enjoy these moments on vacation when our children are happy with a trip to grocery store with cool kid carts and superior cookies to ours back home.

This experience was such a gift to have early on in our trip. It allowed me for the remainder of the trip to relax and let go. I didn’t need to plan and find special places to go and see. I could just enjoy the undistracted time with the special people around me.

Getting the flu while on vacation=getting to rest while sick

I got sick on this trip. I didn’t realize how sick until our last day, when I finally went to the doctor. She did a flu test and confirmed I had the flu. Looking back it still worked out ok. Besides the obvious negative reasons this wasn’t ideal, I didn’t have the energy to fully engage with the kids the way I would have liked and I unfortunately unknowingly might have spread the flu around to others, I actually ended up with the chance to rest while sick. At home Jamie usually can take a day off from work and then I’m back to work too caring for the kids and our home. On vacation I didn’t have to cook, clean or solo parent. I had the opportunity to rest during the day because we always tend to have down time built into our schedule anyway.

Losing Anika’s water bottle=moment of eventual joy

On the flight down Anika left her water bottle on the plane. She was sad, tears flowing down her eyes sad. She owns two water bottles and for whatever reason has strong attachments to both of them. We told her we’d get her another one but she said she only wanted one exactly like the one she had.

On the way home, right before we were getting ready to board the plane, I thought to ask if they happened to have a lost and found and if they had found her water bottle. They said they would look. I figured at this point, even if it was there I had waited to long to ask (which was totally on me not them) and it wasn’t happening.

To my surprise after we loaded the plane, right before they shut the doors, a man and women walked over to us. The man was holding Anika’s water bottle. The women said “someone’s a hero” as he handed it over to Anika. She couldn’t have been happier and immediately wanted me to fill it up so she could drink out of it (I didn’t only because it had been sitting in airport lost and found for a week and needed a good disinfecting).

The women told me the man made a mad dash to get to lost and found and back so he would make it in time to get it to her before our plane took off. This reminded me how wonderful people are. He went above and beyond and made a sad situation for her a happy one instead. So thank you Troy from JetBlue for helping to end our vacation on such a wonderful note and reminding me how much good there is in the world.